Reports: Internet use

Email marketers already know that effective email design plays an essential role in branding and has a direct correlation with high click-through and conversion rates. However, many marketers overlook the effect that design can have on the deliverability of the actual email message. In this whitepaper, the authors have outlined design best practices that will help you successfully reach your audience.

The population of e-book readers is growing. In the past year, the number of those who read e-books increased from 16% of all Americans ages 16 and older to 23%. At the same time, the number of those who read printed books in the previous 12 months fell from 72% of the population ages 16 and older to 67%. This report will give you findings and results of how ebook reading has grown and print book reading has declined in the recent years.

In a 2011 survey, 799 teens were asked about a number of online behaviors. One of the findings was that 37% of Internet users ages 12-17 participate in video chats with others using applications such as Skype, Google Talk or iChat. Girls are more likely than boys to engage in such chats.

In today’s world of smart phones, smart grids and smart cars, companies are collecting, storing and sharing more information about consumers than ever before. With this report, the FTC calls on companies to act now to implement best practices to protect consumers’ private information. Implementing these best practices will enhance trust and stimulate commerce.

The Future of Apps and Web
Janna Quitney Anderson, Elon University
Lee Rainie, Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
27 pages, March 2012

The Web is dead? No. Experts expect apps and the Web to converge in the cloud; but many worry that simplicity for users will come at a price. Tech experts generally believe the mobile revolution, the popularity of targeted apps, the monetization of online products and services, and innovations in cloud computing will drive Web evolution. A survey of technology experts and Internet stakeholders found that most of them generally believe the mobile revolution, the popularity of targeted apps, the monetization of online products and services, and innovations in cloud computing will drive Web evolution and make the open Web stronger than ever in users’ lives. This report will give you excerpts of responses to this survey.

This report is based on the findings of a daily tracking survey on Americans’ use of the Internet. The results in this report are based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International in November 2010.

This whitepaper covers how the digital revolution is forcing marketers to become more customer-centric and offers advice on how to incorporate these actionable insights into your digital marketing strategy.

The Social Side of the Internet
Lee Rainie, Director
Kristen Purcell, Associate Director, Research
Aaron Smith, Senior Research Specialist
Pew Research Center
40 pages, January 2011

A new national survey by the Pew’s Internet & American Life Project has found that 75% of all American adults are active in some kind of voluntary group or organization and Internet users are more likely than others to be active: 80% of Internet users participate in groups, compared with 56% of non-Internet users.

Tech experts generally believe that today’s tech‐savvy young people – the digital natives who are known for enthusiastically embracing social networking – will retain their willingness to share personal information online even as they get older and take on more responsibilities. Experts surveyed say that the advantages millennials see in personal disclosure will outweigh their concerns about their privacy.

The Future of Social Relations
Janna Quitney Anderson, Elon University
Lee Rainie, Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
27 pages, July 2, 2010
(Recommended)

The social benefits of Internet use will far outweigh the negatives over the next decade, according to experts who responded to a survey about the future of the internet. They say this is because email, social networks, and other online tools offer low‐friction opportunities to create, enhance and rediscover social ties that make a difference in people’s lives. The Internet lowers traditional communications constraints of cost, geography and time; and it supports the type of open information sharing that brings people together.

Technology experts and stakeholders say they expect they will “live mostly in the cloud” in 2020 and not on the desktop, working mostly through cyberspace-based applications accessed through networked devices. This will substantially advance mobile connectivity through smartphones and other Internet devices. Still, cloud computing has many hurdles to overcome, including concerns tied to the availability of broadband spectrum, the ability of diverse systems to work together, security, privacy and quality of service.

Reputation Management and Social Media: How people monitor their identity and search for others online
Mary Madden and Aaron Smith
Pew Internet & American Life Project
47 pages, May 26, 2010
(Recommended)

Reputation management has become a defining feature of online life for many users, especially the young. While some users are careful to project themselves online in a way that suits specific audiences, others embrace an open approach to sharing information about themselves and do not take steps to restrict what they share.

The Impact of the Internet on Institutions in the Future
Janna Quitney Anderson, Elon University
Lee Rainie, Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project
22 pages, March 31, 2010
(Recommended)

A highly engaged set of respondents that included 895 technology experts, stakeholders and critics who participated in this online, opt-in survey believe that innovative forms of online cooperation could result in more efficient and responsive for-profit firms, nonprofit organizations and government agencies by the year 2020.

“Senior Technical Women: A Profile of Success” sheds light on the attributes of senior-level technical women who represent a rarity in the technology industry. This report examines the characteristics of high-ranking women in technology, how they perceive themselves and their top attributes for success, and what organizational practices they most care about. The report also makes recommendations for companies looking to retain senior technical women and for women seeking to advance to senior level positions.

A survey of nearly 900 Internet stakeholders reveals new perspectives on the way the Internet is affecting human intelligence and the ways that information is being shared and rendered. The Web-based survey gathered opinions from prominent scientists, business leaders, consultants, writers and technology developers. This publication is part of a Pew Research Center series that captures people’s expectations for the future of the Internet.

This report is a part of a series of reports undertaken by the Pew Research Center that highlight the attitudes and behaviors of the Millennial generation and brings together recent findings about Internet and social media use among young adults by contrasting it within comparable data for adolescents and adults older than 30.

This report is the third in a series of large-scale, nationally representative surveys by the foundation about young people’s media use. The report is based on a survey conducted between October 2008 and May 2009 among a nationally representative sample of 2,002 3rd to 12th grade students ages 8-18, including a self-selected subsample of 702 respondents who completed seven-day media use diaries, which were used to calculate multitasking proportions.

This Pew Internet Personal Networks and Community survey is the first ever that examines the role of the Internet and cell phones in the way that people interact with those in their core social network. The key findings challenge previous research and commonplace fears about the harmful social impact of new technology.

Identity in the Age of Cloud Computing:
The next-generation Internet’s impact on business, governance and social interactionJD Lasica
Aspen Institute
110 pages, May 2009
(Recommended)

This ebook examines the migration of information, software and identity into the cloud and explores the transformative possibilities of this new computing paradigm for culture, commerce and personal communication. The report also considers potential consequences for privacy, governance and security, and it includes policy recommendations and advice for the new presidential administration. It’s the output of 28 leaders and experts from the information technology, financial, government, academic and public policy sectors convened by the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program.

The Future of the Internet
Janna Quitney Anderson and Lee Rainie
Pew Internet & American Life Project
138 pages, December 2008
(Recommended)

A survey of Internet leaders, activists and analysts shows they expect major tech advances as the phone becomes a primary device for online access, voice-recognition improves, artificial and virtual reality become more embedded in everyday life, and the architecture of the Internet itself improves.

While Web 2.0 is an exciting and revolutionary development in online computing, it exposes consumers andbusinesses to a broader spectrum of Web threats. Web 2.0 technologies, such as asynchronous Javascript and XML (AJAX), expand both the attack surface and the security gaps available to cyber criminals, while the communal interaction premise of Web 2.0 renders users more susceptible to social engineering techniques.

Will Fair Use Survive? Free Expression in the Age of Copyright Control
Marjorie Heins and Tricia Beckles
Brennan Center for Justice
76 pages, November 2005
(Recommended)

The report summarizes the results of research done by the Center that looked at a range of artists and academics who ran into trouble with fair use in the early part of the 21st century, either by having received DMCA cease and desist orders or who were sued for copyright infringement. While the report paints a fairly dreary picture of our present culture (described as the culture of clearance), the authors do make some concrete suggestions that could help turn the tide in favor of fair use.